Latest news with #GoodHousekeeping
Cosmopolitan
5 hours ago
- Health
- Cosmopolitan
This Abercrombie Curve Love Bikini *Actually* Fits My 32F Chest
If you have a bigger bust and smaller band size, you know how impossible it can be to find a well-fiting bathing suit that actually looks stylish. As a 32F, I often feel like my only options are to (A) squeeze into a trendy but ill-fitting bikini that only comes in standard sizes, or (B) settle for a more supportive (but matronly) option with bra sizing. That is, until I found Abercrombie's Curve Love swim line about a year ago. You may already be familiar with Abercrombie's Curve Love denim, which nixes waist gapping in your favorite jeans by adding extra room through the hip and thigh. So I was delighted when the brand came out with a similar problem-solving product for my fellow big boob, small ribcage girlies. Curve Love swim is designed specifically to accommodate larger cups with a proportionally smaller band size. It fits cup sizes D-F and band sizes 28 through 42. There are a few different Curve Love styles to choose from, but my personal favorite is the High Apex Underwire Bikini Top. It provides tons of support with built-in underwire and adjustable straps without looking too bra-like. It also has a smaller gore (the landing area between cups), so it separates your girls without pushing them tooooo far apart—meaning you'll still have some cleavage. And the best part? The cups are *actually* wide enough to cover your whole breast from the side, preventing any of that weird armpit bulge. Underrated feature: this bikini doesn't ride up in the back. Since the band actually fits my smaller ribcage, it evenly distributes the weight of my chest and stays put all day long—a major win in my book. Plus, the band is snug enough around my waist to support my chest from beneath, so it doesn't hurt my neck and shoulders. Now, I can actually enjoy my time at the beach without constantly adjusting my top and stressing about spillage. I already own this exact bikini in three colors (a girl's gotta have options!), and I'm not the only one who swears by it. "My dream bikini top," writes one happy shopper. "As someone with a large bust and smaller waist I always have a hard time finding swimsuits, this top is the solution! I love it so much that I wish all of my bras fit as good as this bikini top." "I put these on and immediately wanted to cry tears of happiness," added another reviewer. "I'm 23 and have NEVER been able to find a bikini top that actually fits wish I could time travel and bring these to my teenage self." A bikini that actually fits and flatters my 32F chest is honestly priceless, but this one is reasonably priced at $55. And while you could wait around for one of Abercrombie's sales, we suggest shopping as soon as possible—these popular styles tend to sell out fast. Lauren Gruber is an associate commerce editor at Hearst Magazines, where she writes for publications like Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, Prevention, Country Living, House Beautiful, and more. She has over four years of professional experience covering a variety of lifestyle topics from home to fashion, with an advanced background in beauty and fragrance. When she's not researching the most worthy Prime Day deals or hands-on testing all the latest perfume launches, Lauren is probably hanging out with her cat Serafina or flexing her AMC A-List membership at the movie theater. You can find her previous work at Entertainment Tonight, Shop TODAY, USA Today, Self Magazine, L'Officiel USA, V Magazine, and Modern Luxury Media.
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Best mattresses, duvets, and pillows named in Good Housekeeping awards – prices start at just £26
Check below to see which products scored the highest OH BABY Best mattresses, duvets, and pillows named in Good Housekeeping awards – prices start at just £26 Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE BEST mattresses, duvets and pillows have been name in the Good Housekeeping awards with prices starting at just £26. The Good Housekeeping Institute has tested a whopping 385 different products to determine which ones are the best to improve your sleep. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 The Hypnos Legacy Origins III costs £1,499 Credit: Hypnos 5 The Simba Performance Mattress Protector scored 100/100 and costs £99 Credit: Emma 5 The Rem-Fit Hybrid Pocket 1000 Mattress was crowned Best Value mattress, costing just £499.99 Credit: Rem-Fit It comes after a study revealed 48 per cent of people aren't getting the recommended seven to nine hours of shut eye each night. The GHI tested an astonishing 292 mattresses, ultimately naming the pocket-sprung, temperature-regulating Hypnos Legacy Origins III as the winner with a standout score of 94/100. This is available to buy online for an eye-watering £1,499. Alternatively, the Rem-Fit Hybrid Pocket 1000 Mattress, which scored 89/100, is perfect for those desperately needing a good night's sleep. It was crowned Best Value mattress, costing just under £500. Mattress Toppers drastically improve comfort and an elamant of luxury to your sleep. The White Company Luxury White Down Topper, filled with plush goose feathers, was rated the highest in quality, earning an impressive score of 93/100. Shoppers can grab this luxury item for a dicounted price of £210 The GHI focused on budget-friendly choices when deciding which mattress protector takes the top spot. The Simba Performance Mattress Protector (100/100) - scanning for £99 - got full marks and was named Best for Softness. I'm a home expert & my simple trick will make your bed look more luxurious in seconds & doesn't cost anything Similarly, the Panda London Bamboo Waterproof Mattress Protector (100,100) - costing just £36 - also scored perfectly because of its waterproof feature. Having the right pillow is essential for a good night's sleep — and according to GHI, they've found the ultimate one. They said: "Those who are tired of tossing and turning at night might be interested in this year's recipient of Best Cooling Pillow, Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow." This product earned the highest pillow rating of the year, scoring an impressive 96/100. However, with it costing around £70, shoppers may want to go for the cheaper Slumberdown Climate Control Firmer Pillows (2 pack). This product still received a respectable score of 87/100 and is priced at just £26. With summer's heat setting in, having the right duvet will help prevent overheating during the night. The GHI chose the Simba Summer Hybrid Duvet - priced at £129 - as their top pick for the summer with a high score of 98/100. It comes after an expert revealed how to get a good night's sleep during a heatwave - and the answer is not sleeping naked. And more than half of campers say the sounds of the outdoors help them get a better night's sleep than if they were in their own bed. 5 The Aurthur Sleep King Mattress is availabe to buy for £493 Credit: Mattressman
The Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Best mattresses, duvets, and pillows named in Good Housekeeping awards – prices start at just £26
THE BEST mattresses, duvets and pillows have been name in the Good Housekeeping awards with prices starting at just £26. The Good Housekeeping Institute has tested a whopping 385 different products to determine which ones are the best to improve your sleep. 5 5 5 It comes after a study revealed 48 per cent of people aren't getting the recommended seven to nine hours of shut eye each night. The GHI tested an astonishing 292 mattresses, ultimately naming the pocket-sprung, temperature-regulating Hypnos Legacy Origins III as the winner with a standout score of 94/100. This is available to buy online for an eye-watering £1,499. Alternatively, the Rem-Fit Hybrid Pocket 1000 Mattress, which scored 89/100, is perfect for those desperately needing a good night's sleep. It was crowned Best Value mattress, costing just under £500. Mattress Toppers drastically improve comfort and an elamant of luxury to your sleep. The White Company Luxury White Down Topper, filled with plush goose feathers, was rated the highest in quality, earning an impressive score of 93/100. Shoppers can grab this luxury item for a dicounted price of £210 The GHI focused on budget-friendly choices when deciding which mattress protector takes the top spot. The Simba Performance Mattress Protector (100/100) - scanning for £99 - got full marks and was named Best for Softness. I'm a home expert & my simple trick will make your bed look more luxurious in seconds & doesn't cost anything Similarly, the Panda London Bamboo Waterproof Mattress Protector (100,100) - costing just £36 - also scored perfectly because of its waterproof feature. Having the right pillow is essential for a good night's sleep — and according to GHI, they've found the ultimate one. They said: "Those who are tired of tossing and turning at night might be interested in this year's recipient of Best Cooling Pillow, Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow." This product earned the highest pillow rating of the year, scoring an impressive 96/100. However, with it costing around £70, shoppers may want to go for the cheaper Slumberdown Climate Control Firmer Pillows (2 pack). This product still received a respectable score of 87/100 and is priced at just £26. With summer's heat setting in, having the right duvet will help prevent overheating during the night. The GHI chose the Simba Summer Hybrid Duvet - priced at £129 - as their top pick for the summer with a high score of 98/100. It comes after an expert revealed how to get a good night's sleep during a heatwave - and the answer is not sleeping naked. And more than half of campers say the sounds of the outdoors help them get a better night's sleep than if they were in their own bed. 5 5
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
‘I was relieved when he left': Is it bad to celebrate when your children move out?
The empty nest used to be a rite of passage for parents waving their children off into adulthood. It was meant to usher in a new era of freedom, travel and fun for midlifers, before grandchildren reclaimed their time. But life isn't quite so linear now. We're often emotionally closer to our children than previous generations were, many families communicate constantly via social media, and Gen X mums and dads often hang out with their teenagers simply because it's fun. So when they really go for good, it can be incredibly painful. As A-levels roll on and university shimmers in the distance, the prospect of the empty nest looms over parents. No more late-night chats when they crash in from the pub, no more lifts, no more beloved, familiar presence in the next bedroom. The actress Sadie Frost admitted earlier this year that she 'fell apart' when her offspring all left. She told Good Housekeeping's podcast, 'You get up, you make breakfast, you do the school run… When all that stopped, I fell apart. This… was my engine. This was what was driving me.' I felt the same when my only son left home for university, way back in 2011. I now refer to that period as 'my nervous breakdown years' – because not only were we extremely close, but I had had him aged 22, and had barely known adult life without him at the centre of my decisions. His security and happiness were what drove my work ethic for 18 years, and without him there, as Barbie sang, I had no idea what I had been made for. My marriage fell apart, I moved to a new city in search of answers and it took me several years to find a path forward. 'Even though it was difficult when [the four children] all left home, it made me embrace being on my own,' said Frost. 'I had to face that fear.' According to the Office for National Statistics, the average age for children to leave home is now 25. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also found that since 2006, the number of adults aged 25-34 living at home has risen from 13 per cent to 18 per cent. But when they do finally leave, for some mothers, the wrench can be agonising. Toni Koppel, 65, a videographer from London, has sons aged 28 and 30. She says, 'I was so upset when my eldest left home to go to university in York. I thought I'd never be able to survive. We took him there and I was so sad all the way home,' she recalls. 'It was very hard to let go. He'd never lived away from home before. He'd never cooked anything himself, he was very shy. I was so worried about him. Even though his brother was still at home, the place felt empty.' Gradually, however, Koppel began to see an upside. 'I moped around for two weeks, then I slowly realised there was less washing to do, the fridge stayed fuller, there was less housework.' In the holidays, she adds, 'The house became bustling again with two young men arguing, leaving clothes and dirty plates everywhere. After a few days, I would want him to go back to uni!' After graduating, both her sons left home permanently. 'I realise now that the short university terms were training me for these years – and now it was my turn to thrive again,' says Koppel. 'I started volunteering at the Five Bells Computer Club that I now run, I started SugarSweet Video Productions and joined a Nordic walking class.' But while Koppel experienced an incremental introduction to the empty nest, Kari Roberts, 61, a coach and author from Hampshire, waved her eldest son off unexpectedly when he was just 16. 'He'd always wanted to go to the US to play basketball and he got the chance for a year when he was 16,' she explains. 'It was organised in a rush, and he flew out just two days after getting his GCSE results.' Initially, she felt 'a mixture of sadness and excitement, as he was achieving his dream'. But while away, he decided to stay and complete the two-year high-school diploma. 'He came home for a holiday. Taking him to the airport the second time, I was overcome with such sadness, I broke down in tears,' recalls Roberts. 'I knew deep down he would carry on living in the US. He went to university there, and is now married with a family in San Diego.' The sense of loss lasted years. 'I still have a surge of emotions when I think about it, and his age at the time definitely added to it. I felt like a bit of me was missing, but I knew I couldn't stop him as this had been his dream for years.' They now visit regularly, and Roberts's other grown children live within a 15-minute drive. 'But it's still hard. We couldn't meet his second child for two years because of lockdowns. I still miss him.' While most of us want happy independence for our children, some clearly find the transition easier than others – and some of that depends on their personalities, says single mother and binge eating coach Harriet Morris, 53, who lives in Shrewsbury. 'Louis was a confident, happy-go-lucky child right from the toddler years,' she says. 'I saw his independence as a good thing. Since he left for uni, I do have times when I feel wistful and see how fast the years have flown by,' she admits. 'I miss chatting to him. But I am overwhelmingly delighted that he has started to explore the world beyond sleepy old Shropshire. I do think my being a single parent played a part in my relief when he left – I'd been on my own for a whole decade, bringing up two lively boys.' Morris understands, she says, that sadness is part of letting go, 'but growing up seems to me to be about leaving your parents in stages'. There's still a tendency, however, to imagine that dads will merrily wave the kids off, while the mother falls apart – but that's not necessarily the case, says Michael Taylor*, 52, a quantity surveyor from Liverpool. 'Our daughter Natalie* left two years ago to go to university in London,' he says. 'She's suffered from anxiety in the past and she found the transition really challenging. She phoned home a lot, and my wife, Karen*, would spend hours reassuring her. We both missed her massively, partly because we knew she wasn't having a good time,' he explains. 'I tried to be strong for her and Karen, who was worrying about her constantly, but my own sadness felt like I was dragging a lead weight around,' Taylor adds. 'I felt I hadn't done a good enough job as her dad, that she wasn't ready for independence. Thankfully, by the Easter term, she'd met some like-minded girls and started to find her niche.'' But, he admits, 'It was a really tough time. I don't think Karen knows quite how hard I found it too, but as a dad, you feel you have to support everyone else. I'm just so glad she's found her path now.' Empty nesting, as Sadie Frost has discovered, can be a curious mix of freedom and fear, relief and regret. 'Missing your child, but knowing they're happy and independent, is a good problem to have, I think,' says Harriet Morris. All these years later, I can confirm that she's entirely correct.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
‘I was relieved when he left': Is it bad to celebrate when your children move out?
The empty nest used to be a rite of passage for parents waving their children off into adulthood. It was meant to usher in a new era of freedom, travel and fun for midlifers, before grandchildren reclaimed their time. But life isn't quite so linear now. We're often emotionally closer to our children than previous generations were, many families communicate constantly via social media, and Gen X mums and dads often hang out with their teenagers simply because it's fun. So when they really go for good, it can be incredibly painful. As A-levels roll on and university shimmers in the distance, the prospect of the empty nest looms over parents. No more late-night chats when they crash in from the pub, no more lifts, no more beloved, familiar presence in the next bedroom. The actress Sadie Frost admitted earlier this year that she 'fell apart' when her offspring all left. She told Good Housekeeping's podcast, 'You get up, you make breakfast, you do the school run... When all that stopped, I fell apart. This… was my engine. This was what was driving me.' I felt the same when my only son left home for university, way back in 2011. I now refer to that period as 'my nervous breakdown years' – because not only were we extremely close, but I had had him aged 22, and had barely known adult life without him at the centre of my decisions. His security and happiness were what drove my work ethic for 18 years, and without him there, as Barbie sang, I had no idea what I had been made for. My marriage fell apart, I moved to a new city in search of answers and it took me several years to find a path forward. 'Even though it was difficult when [the four children] all left home, it made me embrace being on my own,' said Frost. 'I had to face that fear.' According to the Office for National Statistics, the average age for children to leave home is now 25. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has also found that since 2006, the number of adults aged 25-34 living at home has risen from 13 per cent to 18 per cent. But when they do finally leave, for some mothers, the wrench can be agonising. Toni Koppel, 65, a videographer from London, has sons aged 28 and 30. She says, 'I was so upset when my eldest left home to go to university in York. I thought I'd never be able to survive. We took him there and I was so sad all the way home,' she recalls. 'It was very hard to let go. He'd never lived away from home before. He'd never cooked anything himself, he was very shy. I was so worried about him. Even though his brother was still at home, the place felt empty.' Gradually, however, Toni began to see an upside. 'I moped around for two weeks, then I slowly realised there was less washing to do, the fridge stayed fuller, there was less housework.' In the holidays, she adds, 'The house became bustling again with two young men arguing, leaving clothes and dirty plates everywhere. After a few days, I would want him to go back to uni!' After graduating, both her sons left home permanently. 'I realise now that the short university terms were training me for these years – and now it was my turn to thrive again,' says Toni. 'I started volunteering at the Five Bells Computer Club that I now run, I started SugarSweet Video Productions and joined a Nordic walking class.' But while Toni experienced an incremental introduction to the empty nest, Kari Roberts, 61, a coach and author from Hampshire, waved her eldest son off unexpectedly when he was just 16. 'He'd always wanted to go to the US to play basketball and he got the chance for a year when he was 16,' she explains. 'It was organised in a rush, and he flew out just two days after getting his GCSE results.' Initially, she felt 'a mixture of sadness and excitement, as he was achieving his dream'. But while away, he decided to stay and complete the two-year high-school diploma. 'He came home for a holiday. Taking him to the airport the second time, I was overcome with such sadness, I broke down in tears,' recalls Kari. 'I knew deep down he would carry on living in the US. He went to university there, and is now married with a family in San Diego.' The sense of loss lasted years. 'I still have a surge of emotions when I think about it, and his age at the time definitely added to it. I felt like a bit of me was missing, but I knew I couldn't stop him as this had been his dream for years.' They now visit regularly, and Kari's other grown children live within a 15-minute drive. 'But it's still hard. We couldn't meet his second child for two years because of lockdowns. I still miss him.' While most of us want happy independence for our children, some clearly find the transition easier than others – and some of that depends on their personalities, says single mother and binge-eating coach Harriet Morris, 53, who lives in Shrewsbury. 'Louis was a confident, happy-go-lucky child right from the toddler years,' she says. 'I saw his independence as a good thing. Since he left for uni, I do have times when I feel wistful and see how fast the years have flown by,' she admits. 'I miss chatting to him. But I am overwhelmingly delighted that he has started to explore the world beyond sleepy old Shropshire. I do think my being a single parent played a part in my relief when he left – I'd been on my own for a whole decade, bringing up two lively boys.' Harriet understands, she says, that sadness is part of letting go, 'but growing up seems to me to be about leaving your parents in stages.' There's still a tendency, however, to imagine that dads will merrily wave the kids off, while the mother falls apart – but that's not necessarily the case, says Michael Taylor*, 52, a quantity surveyor from Liverpool. 'Our daughter Natalie* left two years ago to go to university in London,' he says. 'She's suffered from anxiety in the past and she found the transition really challenging. She phoned home a lot, and my wife, Karen*, would spend hours reassuring her. We both missed her massively, partly because we knew she wasn't having a good time,' he explains. 'I tried to be strong for her and Karen, who was worrying about her constantly, but my own sadness felt like I was dragging a lead weight around,' Michael adds. 'I felt I hadn't done a good enough job as her dad, that she wasn't ready for independence. Thankfully, by the Easter term, she'd met some like-minded girls and started to find her niche.'' But, he admits, 'It was a really tough time. I don't think Karen knows quite how hard I found it too, but as a dad, you feel you have to support everyone else. I'm just so glad she's found her path now.' Empty nesting, as Sadie Frost has discovered, can be a curious mix of freedom and fear, relief and regret. 'Missing your child, but knowing they're happy and independent, is a good problem to have, I think,' says Harriet Morris. All these years later, I can confirm that she's entirely correct. *Names have been changed Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
